The Barack Obama administration has said the meeting of foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, held in New Delhi on Thursday, is a 'courageous' step by the leaders of the two neighbouring countries. "We certainly commend the leadership of political courage and making sure that the meeting takes place. Now, the challenge is to build on this going forward," said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley.
Commending the political leadership of India and Pakistan, the Obama administration has said it is encouraged that the terrorist attack in Pune did not derail the resumption of peace talks between the two South Asian neighbours.
It is very much in the interest of India and United States to continue to engage with Pakistan, even if Islamabad has not taken enough steps to meet the demands of New Delhi about punishing those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks, a Obama administration official has said. "It is very much in our interest and it is very much in the interest of India to continue to engage Pakistan," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said.
Encouraged by the possibility of talks between India and Pakistan, the Obama administration has said the two south Asian neighbours share a number of important interests -- from tackling terrorism to encouraging trade.
Washington and several cities in America's East Coast set a record since 1899 for snowfall after a blizzard slammed the region on Thursday for the second time this week.
The Kashmiri Pandit leadership from across the United States, led by California-based community activist Jeevan Zutshi, last week met senior Obama administration officials at the State Department and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to implore them to help address the plight of the Pandits in India.
The Obama administration welcomed the Indian proposal to hold talks with Pakistan at the level of foreign secretary on Thursday.
Obama repeated what he has been saying since last August in an interview on CNN stressing that in order to effectively deal with Al Qaeda, the US has to have a stronger relationship with the new government in Pakistan unlike the way the Bush administration had placed all the eggs in the basket of President Pervez Musharraf.
